Ed Toups
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Bayou St John Tree Sculpture during the summer Super Moon 2014... photo taken by Eliot Kamenitz
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb

In 2005 Hurricane Katrina battered the trees along Bayou St. John...most survived, albeit  twisted, mangled and scarred.  Just as their canopies' were reaching their former glory, Hurricane Isaac swept through splitting several trees in half.  One 200 year old oak was killed by a bolt of lightning.
ed toups dedication"Dreamers of New Orleans"
Marlin Miller, Ed Toups, Jared Zeller and Armand worked together to transform this lightning struck tree into the Music Tree Sculpture you see standing today.  We hope this sculpture will stand for generations overlooking the bayou.

In November 2013, Ed and Mothership Foundation donated two large oaks to the bayou.  These trees stand on either side of the sculpture.  25 years ago, in 1988, these trees were mere saplings in Florida.   They were selected for the New Orleans bayou because they can thrive in our harsh summer climate and can adapt to the brackish waters of Bayou St. John.

If you'd like to contribute to the bayou canopy...please contact me with the contact link above.
 


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Lightning Killed the Bayou St. John tree in 2011
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Marlin contemplates his next cut
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view from the bucket looking down on the crane...
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Marlin Miller's Bayou St. John Sculpture
Marlin invited me to take a ride in the bucket crane...He makes being 30 feet in the air, leaning out of the bucket, wielding a chainsaw to delicately cut away hundreds of pounds of 200 year old oak look easy...It's anything but "easy".